Mahora One Half
by Fellgrave
Summary: Nightmares plague Ranma's sleep while his waking hours are spent within one of another's making. His mother, having seen how he lives, decides a change of scenery would do him some good. And where better than at her old school, Mahora Academy.
1. Prologue

Tapping on the door, the young man looked nervously around. Ever since he'd woken up it had seemed like wherever he had gone, there was no one around. Frankly, it scared the hell out of him and it was no surprise that he was jumping at shadows. He saw there was only one place that appeared to have anyone present in it, if the lights and shapes occasionally moving across the windows were anything to go by. He wasted no time in making his way to the house, letting loose a tremendous sigh of relief when he reached the door.

As he waited, he wondered who lived in the house. It seemed an old building, nearly as old as some of the ruins he had visited over the years. Its style was decidely foreign, thick black stone walls and a solid iron door all covered in white carvings. He didn't pay much attention to them, save the one that made an ornamental doorknocker that looked like a leering skull. The small candles that lit the sockets from within served to give the young man a thoroughly creeped out feeling.

He was immensely relieved when the door opened, revealing a smiling, and somewhat pale, young woman who looked a year or two younger than his own eighteen. She gave him a warm smile, though her lips stayed closed. As she gestured him to enter, he took in the flowing black dress she had on, decorated with patterns in white lace that seemed to squirm under his focus and refused to resolve into actual images. A soft giggle brought him out of his musings and he realised with a start that he had been staring right into the young woman's cleavage.

His head snapped up so fast it was suprising that he didn't get any whiplash. The young woman simply looked at him and his blushing face with amusement. Her strange, reddish-brown eyes were dancing with the flickering of the candles that lined the house. Ducking his head in embarrassment, he nonetheless followed her gesture and stepped inside. As he followed her down the long door-lined hallway, he heard the great iron door slam shut, and he couldn't help but think about how similar the sound was to that of the lid of a coffin being nailed shut.

He flinched at what sounded like an animal screaming in terror or great pain, or maybe a combination of both, the sound coming from one of the many closed doors. He turned a nervous look to his hostess and found her staring at the door in question with a scowl. Feeling his attention, her head whipped back around, the smile back in place, as if the dark look had never been. She gave a shake of her head before idly pointing to the door.

"I must apologize, my pets can get quite bothersome when I have a guest over. I'm feeling quite peckish, would you care for something to eat or drink?" Her voice had a strange, almost hypnotic quality to it, and the young man started to feel as if he would do anything to keep hearing her voice. Absently he nodded his head, and then followed her down the rest of the hall until they reached the kitchen. Moving woodenly, he took a seat at the table in the center of the room and watched patiently as his hostess ran around preparing food.

The room was quiet, save for the sounds of the young woman chopping vegetables off on the side. The young man gave a start when the stillness was interrupted by the rude sound of a telephone ringing. Carefully wiping off the knife before setting it down next to the cutting board she turned to face the young man.

"I'll be right back, and whatever you do, don't go into any of those rooms. They're private." After receiving a nod, she left the room and he heard her answer the phone. The young man could hear her speaking, her tone still calm and peaceful. His attention though was caught by the sound of the animal, this time coming from a door that he could see was slightly ajar. Looking into the glass window over the sink he could see the young woman over in the other room speaking into the phone.

'_Well, its not like I'm actually going to go into the room. I'll just take a peek from the door, no harm in that.' _The young man thought to himself as he stealthily got up from the table and made his way over to the door. Taking a quick glance back to make sure that the woman was still on the phone, he leaned in close and tried to see through the small gap. He he couldn't see much all told, as the room was dark, with the only light coming from the oil lamp burning in the kitchen, the flickering light illuminating a stretch of the floor, plain tile flooring stained with what appeared to be puddles of dark wax.

Feeling curious, the young man gently tried to tease the door open a touch more. Instead it easily swung open, revealing the disturbing entirety of the room. The light spilled into the room, turning the puddles of wax into pools of dried blood. But that didn't even attract a touch of the young man's attention, as it was all spent on the figure leaning on the wall opposite the door.

The figure was wrapped around by several large chains, chains that seemed familiar to the young man, as did the figure himself. Though, it was hard to tell exactly who the figure was, as he had been covered in blood from several series' of small slashes. The figure's arms were somewhat free, the chains that held them allowing some movement of the arms with the hands free. The chains were each held in place by a large lock, the key's dangling from the ceiling on pieces of string. The young man was puzzled as to why the figure didn't simply grab the keys, as they were easily noticeable.

The young man had his answer when the figure looked up at the source of the sudden illumination. The young man nearly screamed as he was filled with frightening recognition. The large glasses that decked the figure's face were instantly recognizable, though they no longer served a purpose, since someone had plucked the eyes right out of the figure's sockets. The young man stumbled over his legs as he backed up, resorting to backpedalling with his hands, until he ran into something. Trembling he looked up into the grimly smiling visage of his hostess. This time her smile drew back her lips, revealing sharply pointed canine teeth.

"Now what did I tell you? You've gone and spoiled the surprise. Well I guess that just means we can get things started a bit sooner." She turned and faced the figure in the room, her smile becoming wider. "Don't worry Mousse-y boy, I'll be back for you soon enough." And with a wave of her hand the door slammed shut. Turning her attention back to the young man, she cocked her head to the side.

"Now, what to do with you, hmm precious?" She took a step forwards, clearly enjoying the terror on the young man's face. The patterns her dress had revealed themselves as various visages of death, a large winged skull reaching across her cleavage. Her eyes, where before had been a reddish brown, had become a shining pure crimson, with a look that screamed of the hunger in them.

The young man leaped away from her and stumbled backwards into another room. He swung around and this time he did scream. The figure in this room had been impaled by nearly fifty swords, two wooden bokkens serving to hold him suspended off the ground, as they had been rammed through his shoulders and into the wall itself. The young man trembled as he recognized the old style samurai outfit this figure wore. Shaking he backed up and turned, only to find himself, not in the hallway as conventional physics would expect, but within another room.

The sight in this room caused him to void his stomach, making him glad that he hadn't actually eaten anything yet. In the middle of the room was a young lady with a boyish cut to her hair, her eyes' rapid movement the only sign that she was alive, though considering her state such a thing seemed impossible. Suspended above her head was a massive cauldron slowly pouring its contents into a large funnel stuck in the woman's mouth. Her belly already appeared obscenely close to bursting, and her skin had begun to blister from the heat of the molten gold being poured into her stomach.

This time he didn't even register leaving the room, only the fact that the tiles had changed and become stained with prolific amounts of blood. Though he didn't desire the sight in the least, he found his head uncontrollably raising. What he saw once again set him screaming, though this time the horror in his voice was mixed with sorrow. The person in front of him could barely be called that any more. The only intact thing on her body was her head, the rest had been crushed as if by great weights applied to it, though it was apparent that it wasn't done all at once, instead it looked as if someone had spent several days with a massive sledge hammer crushing her body piece by piece.

He barely noticed any of the sights after that. As he staggered around lost, he registered the sight of a body obscured by a pack of wolves that was devouring it, a lock of purple hair serving to identify the body. In another room, he noticed a rather fat man who had screamed himself hoarse as his blood was being replaced by pure alcohol. And in another, a thinner man had his head surrounded by an orb of salt water, the man slowly drowning in tears.

Finally, the young man found himself standing right back where he had started, in the kitchen. He looked around the room wildly, and sighed in relief when he found the woman wasn't in sight. The young man ran for his life down the hallway, several times barely avoiding tripping over his own feet in his haste to escape. Reaching the door, he pulled with all of his might but the iron door wouldn't budge. Hearing something, he turned and found himself face to face with the young woman, a frown on her face.

"Now where do you think you're going, hmm? As I said before I'm feeling so very hungry right now. And you look like you'll make the perfect meal."

The young man gasped, before shakingly dropping his gaze to his chest, only to find a gaping hole where his heart would be. Turning his head back up he watched as the young woman held his heart in his hand and took a large bite out of it, making a show of chewing it before swallowing and giving him a bloody smile. As Ryoga collapsed to the ground, he couldn't help but think that the beautiful hair that was red like fire before, had darkened to the colour of spilled blood.

The red-haired woman stared at the corpse as she let loose a terrifying laugh. It wasn't a cackle or chortle, nor did it sound hysterical, but it simply terrified the one who heard it. Turning around slowly, the woman peered up at something out of sight. She cocked her head to the side and smiled, bits of blood and gore dripping off her chin.

"Why don't you let me out for a bit, then we can have some real fun. First, all you need to do is wake up."

* * *

Shaking in terror, Ranma did just that, only managing to keep from screaming thanks to his immense self-control. As he heaved in tremendous breaths of air, he looked around himself and relaxed slightly as he found himself still in the guestroom at the Tendo's, his old man snoring away next to him, and his mother sleeping peacefully on his father's side, the whole family staying over while his mother's house was being repaired. As he rubbed at his face he stifled small gasp of pain as his finger was pricked by something.

Raising it to his face he could a drop of blood beading itself on the tip. As he looked at he felt a strange urge welling up inside of himself. Giving in to it, he moved the finger in front of his gouth and gave it a lick, and then proceeded to put his other hand over his mouth to stifle the gasp of pleasure that the taste of the blood evoked from him.

Pulling out his finger he stared at its now healed surface in confusion. As he licked his suddenly too dry lips, he felt his tongue run over something sharp in his mouth. Freezing, he tentatively put his finger in his mouth and felt his teeth, trying hard not to panic as he felt his suddenly much larger and sharper canines. '_Just like the ones the girl in the dream had. What-what the hell is happening to me.'_

The suddenly larger and sharper teeth weren't the only strange thing that had happened to his body. Ever since he first fell into the cursed spring he'd noticed both of his bodies slowly changing, his female form changing slightly faster. When it started he hadn't even known, the change being very subtle, he only noticed it after Nabiki had made mention of how he hadn't seemed to get a tan during their trip to beach. In fact, it seemed that his skin had become paler, to the extent that it now had the appearance of alabaster almost.

He'd also noticed that if he looked at them in the right light, his eyes possessed streaks of red hidden in the blue. But the most noticeable change was the fact that he hadn't seemed to have aged a day since he had fallen into the spring. There were also the dreams which seemed to him to be of the girl who had drowned in the spring, the dreams having started only after Jusendo.

His best guess was that the pure un-affaliated magic of the Jusenkyo cursed waters had supercharged his own curse, bringing over not just the body, but also the mind of the person who had drowned. And if he was right then whoever the girl was, she wanted out. Quite frankly he was terrifyied, not just for his sake, but also for the sake of his friends and family. He was scared to find out what would happen if _she _actually did get out, if the dreams were anything to go by, it woudn't be pretty.

Ranma lay back on his futon with a sigh. At the moment he was too tired to think hard about things, besides they could wait until morning. Releasing a deep breath he let himself fall into the comfort of a dreamless sleep. It was a sign of his preoccupied state of mind in that he failed to notice the fact that one of the other occupants of the room was awake as well.

Nodoka's mind was also thinking about her son's state of being. Having spent the last month and a half at the Tendo's, everyday providing assistance to young Kasumi, she had seen and learn a lot about her son of which she had been completely unaware. She had also had many quite enlightening conversations with the eldest Tendo daughter, many which gave her cause to rethink the ideals to which held fast to, especially concerning Ranma.

She had also learned of some of the worse parts of her son's life. She had learned of some of the abuses he had undergone in the name of training, though she was still unaware at the moment of the Neko-ken, as well as some of her husband's less clandesting dealings. After her discussions with Kasumi, she had also reevaluated the interactions between Ranma and his fiancees.

What she had found she did not like, not one bit. She had seen how instead of treating him as he should be, as a future husband and father of their children, she saw him treated as one would a trophy to be fought over. None of the girls showed more than the slightest amount of love or affection to her son, but still demanded his love for themselves. And there was also the way they showed their displeasure towards her son, with physical beatings, that truly disturbed her. How could she let her son get married to someone who would simply abuse him and treat him as an object?

And between the fiancees and all the various challengers and rivals that were seeking out her son, he had fallen deeply behind in his academical pursuits, something that was dearly important to her and her side of the family. Maybe it would be best if she and her son left Nerima for a while, they could always come back once he finished his schoolwork elsewhere, and by that point maybe the tensions between the girls would have cooled.

Yes maybe leaving Nerima would be for the best. If she recalled correctly her dear niece was studying at the same school she and her sister had attended. Tommorow she'd see about setting up a meeting with the headmaster about some placement tests for her son. And with all the young women who studied at Mahora, she'd have plenty of grand-babies in no time!

And with that thought, Nodoka drifted off into a dreamworld filled of beautiful grand-babies. And somewhere a young boy felt a chill run down his spine, as if his life had suddenly gotten a hundred times worse.

* * *

Holy crap that first section was incredibly disturbed. I mean, wow. I had no clue I had that in me. The story should get lighter from here. I hope.

Anyway, the next chapter should be up a bit faster than normal, since it was going to be part of this one, but I split it up as it was getting too long.

At the moment I am also working on a fic title, **Take the Red and Run**, and I will be giving a prize to whoever is the first to correctly guess the crossover. And for those eagerly awaiting it, the next chapter of **Touch of Time** has been sent to the beta and will be ready to post soon, hopefully.

FG signing off.

Next Chapter: Meeting Mahora, A new Student and Teacher Arrive!


	2. Chapter 1

The thin light of dawn made a slow crawl into the room shared by the Saotomes, the tiny beam cutting a line across the room through the gap in the window blinds. Eventually the light reached its target, the eyes of one Genma Saotome. With an ease born of long practise his eyes opened and he woke up completely in an instant.

He quietly got to his feet, making sure not to disturb his still sleeping wife, before moving to open the out he took a deep breath of the fresh morning air before coming back inside. Carefully, he walked over to his son's sleeping form and grabbed it by the shirt with both hands. Now normally he would have shouted a wake-up call to his son, but considering his wife was nearby, as well as the family sword, he decided discretion was the better part of valour.

Without any warning Ranma found herself shocked awake, the bone-chilling water of the pond dealing her systems a stronger blow than most punches. . Getting out of pond she cast a scathing look towards the window she had just recently been forced to travel through, before trying to wring out some of the water that had soaked her shirt.

Putting the somewhat less damp shirt back on she closed her eyes in focus. Concentrating she tentatively extended one of her newer senses, and one that quite disturbed her with its implications. Upstairs she could _feel _the heartbeats of her mother and the Tendo daughters. Frowning when she failed to find her father she turned her focus to the ground floor, ignoring the slow and steady pulse of Soun as he slept off yet another hangover, she searched for her father.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled, before spinning and delivering a punch right into the stomach of an invisible Genma. His eyes seemed to bulge incredulously as he he was forced to drop the Umi-SenKen cloak. Smirking, Ranma let herself drop backwards to the ground and deliver a quick kick to Genma's jaw, sending him skywards. Ranma looked up at the sky as she gauged how high she had hit her father before moving next to the pond. Leaning over she marked out an large x in the dirt about a foot away from the stones of the pond.

With a smug look on her face she took a step back and stared up at the quickly enlarging speck in the sky. Smiling she watched as her father plummeted towards the ground, all while screaming loudly enough to awaken those in the Tendo home. There was a dull thud as he impacted the ground, the force of his fall creating a small crater.

Still smirking Ranma walked around until she was standing to the back of her father who had only just begun to stir. Groggily, Genma raised his head and got to his feet searching the yard with bleary eyes for his son. By this point most of the rest of the household had awoken, save for Soun, and had gotten to spots where they could watch the ensuing combat with amusement, or in one case, disdain.

Not finding his son-turned-daughter, he let out a frustrated yell. "Dammit stop cheating you ungrateful boy!" His face gained a cruel edge to it as he smirked into the air. "Or maybe a weak little girl like you is afraid to fight fair." He opened his mouth to say more, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Even though he had a good idea as to who had tapped him, he was still unprepared for the sudden punch to the face as he turned around.

Reaching down Ranma grabbed her father by his gi and hurled him into the pond, making sure his head bounced off the rocks at the edge before sliding into the water. She stood staring at the unconscious panda floating in the pond with a subtle twitching of her eye. "Weak girl my fist. Baka Oyaji."

She sniffed disdainfully before heading inside, where the rest of the residents had already gotten dressed and were waiting for breakfast. Taking a quick left turn, Ranma avoided entering the dining room and went into the kitchen where he found Kasumi hard at work preparing breakfast. Smiling, he quietly grabbed a knife and started cutting up some vegetables, Kasumi's own smile brightening at the aid.

Once the food was finished cooking, Ranma deftly grabbed the various dishes and carried them out all at once, much to the delight of Kasumi. With an ease born of lots of practise, from all the times he was forced to work at the Nekohanten to pay off his debts, he set down the dishes without spilling a single bit of food. Considering everyone else had taken seats already, Ranma ended up sitting next to Kasumi.

Using his martial arts skills, Ranma quickly gathered up a dish and served it to Kasumi before anyone could blink. Ranma beamed as Kasumi giggled and hid her own mouh behind her hand.

"Oh Ranma-kun, thank you but you do know I can serve myself?" Kasumi teased, her lips curled into a hidden smile.

"But Kasumi-chan, you did most of the cooking so its only fair if you get something in return isn't it?" Ranma gave her his own small smile as took her bait.

"Oh my, but I couldn't have gotten everything done so quickly if it wasn't for your help Ranma-kun." Kasumi's tender smile had now turned into a near mirror image of Ranma's usual smirk.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you would have had it done perfectly and on time with or without my help." Ranma countered Kasumi with a slight chuckle. The two stared at each other for a moment before breaking into laughter.

Ranma had his smirk on full force, while the rest of those at the table were watching in a somewhat stunned fashion, save Genma who was helping himself to the food while no-one was paying attention. Nabiki was completely stunned, having never seen either her sister or Ranma behave in such a way. Nodoka was smiling, content to merely watch and for once not thinking about potential grand-children, her thoughts directed towards what she had decided the previous night. Soun was barely holding back tears at the sight of how similar Kasumi was to her dear departed mother.

Akane though, Akane was furious. It wasn't enough for Ranma to have three, four if one counted Kodachi but she was insane so she didn't really count, still three girls that he was going after, but now he had to go and add in her sister too! And what made it even worse was that her saint of a sister was flirting back with the pervert! As she watched him laughing her vision started to tunnel and become tinted with red.

She didn't even fully realize what she was doing until she after she had already begun to move. Her trusty mallet, her lone source of protection against all the men in the world, had found its way into her hands as she swung them downwards over her head. Eyes closed, she felt all her tension and rage ease into soft pleasure as she felt the force of the impact travel from the head of the hammer down the haft and up her arms.

Opening her eyes she was greeted with such a suprising sight that she was forced to blink several times to make sure it wasn't an illusion. Ranma was sitting unmoved from his seat, save for the single finger that was holding her mallet away from his head. Akane looked away in disbelief and her eyes caught on Ranma's own. Akane felt her blood freeze in her veins as she stared into Ranma's cold blue eyes. With a simple flick of the wrist Ranma disarmed her, sending the mallet flying backwards without even a blink or shifting of his eyes.

The table was silent, even the sounds of Genma eating ceased as everyone watched events unfold. Ranma slowly lowered his hand until it rested on the table. He leaned forwards until his face was inches from Akane's, who felt as if she was frozen in place. Ranma's smirk crept its way back onto his face, though this time it held a cruel edge to it. He took a deep breath, leaned back slightly, and let loose a ki enhanced burst of air that knocked Akane on her backside.

She stared up from her new position at Ranma who returned her look with an expressionless one of his own. However the effect was ruined as she saw a corner of his lip twitch, before slowly revolving itself into a smile that then turned into laughter, his laughter soon joined by that of Kasumi and his mother, the others at the table still too stunned to respond. Akane sputtered incoherently for several moments before getting up off her feet, casting one last scathing look at Ranma, and heading out of the room towards the dojo.

Genma was the first to recover, and proved that even after having settled down, relatively speaking, since coming to Nerima, his idiotic tendencies were still going strong.

"Foolish child! Go apologize to your fiancee! Ho-*CHING*" Whatever else Genma would have said was lost as the ringing sound of steel on steel filled the room and Genma felt its cold touch on his throat. As he looked around panickedly, a part of his mind noted that he hadn't seen Nodoka bring her Katana to the table with her. Deciding, for the moment at least, that discretion was the better part of valour, he quietly sat back down.

Nodoka gave him a stern look before removing the Katana from its threatening position. Sighing she turned to face her son who was looking at her with a mix of suprise and trepidation. Mentally she cursed herself for being so foolish and pig-headed before hand. She could only hope that she could recover what was left of her relationship with her son with what she had planned.

Clearing her throat she gave Genma a quick look before turning to face her son. "You can relax my son, I am in agreement with your behaviour and the one at fault is obviously your fiancee." Nodoka raised sword as Genma opened his mouth to say something, quite effectively shutting him up. "I have decided that it is in your and the Tendo family's best interests if you were to remove yourself from Nerima until your schooling is complete." She paused and was suprised when no-one, Genma excluded, made any motion to protest her decision.

Taking a deep breath she continued on. "To this end I've decided that it would be best if Ranma and I leave this evening, to try and prevent any of, 'his', problems from showing up and stopping us. I will not say where are destination is, as I'm sure the information would end up misused." Nodoka cast a glare in Nabiki's direction, who at least had the good sense to look slightly guilty. "Suffice to say I'm sure the Academy will be a perfect environment for my son, both my sister and I attended the Academy. Even back then there was a sense that things were quite all they seemed to be, so I'm sure Ranma's curse shouldn't prove much of a hassle. That is, if my son approves of this?"

She felt her heart warm as Ranma gave her a heartfelt smile. For Ranma it felt good for someone to let him make a decision for once, especially his mother. It seemed like things were looking up for him after all. "Yea, I'd like that. Maybe by the time I'm done that tomboy will have cooled off that temper of hers too." Soun looked like he wanted to say something to that, but the sight of Nodoka's still unsheathed blade kept him silent.

"Well then, why don't you go upstairs and pack your things. I have my belongings already prepared so I will go arrange a place to stay. Once you are enrolled you will stay on the Academy grounds but until then I will see if my sister Kukiko can let us stay with her till then. And You!" Nodoka's smile was replaced with a hard glare as she turned her attention to her husband. "You are going to give a complete list of everything, and I mean **Everything, **that you and Ranma did while on that trip of yours. Am I understood?" Genma rapidly nodded his head in agreement, his sense of self preservation already working in overdrive on ways to put a positive spin on some of his er, more undesirable efforts.

Nodoka narrowed her eyes put never the less lowered her blade and put in on the ground next to her. Smiling again she turned to Kasumi. "By the way dear, this tea of yours is simply wonderful, do you suppose you could give me your recipe?"

* * *

**Several Days Later.**

"Darn it mom, why do I gotta go ta this as a girl? And did I really have ta wear somethin' like this?" It was a sign of Ranma's discomfort that he, she at the moment, had slipped back into her old manner of speaking, even though thanks to the efforts of Kasumi and her mother it had mostly been eliminated. Ranma was walking down the long high-ceilinged hallway that led to the Headmaster's office. She was fitfully picking at the 'this' in question, a deep red blouse that managed to show off her developed body in quite a flattering manner. He had a spare change of clothes stored in stuff space, and it wasn't like he was truly worried about anyone here recognizing him, but it was the principle of the thing.

Nodoka gave a smiling sigh as she smoothed the skirt on the light blue business suit she wore. Ranma wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable in their clothes, as Nodoka had gotten so used to the formal kimono's that she customarily wore. She was glad though that her sister had some of her clothes from her younger days working for the family business. Looking down at the equally uncomfortable redhead next to her, she let herself smile a little, at the very least she had managed to keep her past hidden from her child.

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Blinking, she turned and had to resist a sigh as she realised that in her distracted state she had walked right past the door to the Headmaster's office. Standing outside the door was a stunning woman with hair that was an interesting shade of blue-ish green. Smiling, she beckoned the pair of redheads over with a cheery wave. "You must be the Saotomes, the Headmaster has been eagerly awaiting your arrival. My name is Shizuna Minamoto, one of the guidance counselors, and unofficially, secretary to the Headmaster. Please come in."

The two redheads followed Shizuna into the office, and a sight that promtped a whistle from Ranma. "Dang, now those are some impressive eyebrows." Though she muttered her words under her breath, both her mother and Shizuna heard her, causing both to giggle. The Headmaster cocked one of his brows in amusment. Blushing in embaressment Ranma took a seat on the couch in front of the Headmaster's desk, his mother sitting down next to her.

The Headmaster gave them a small smile, before resting his arms on his desk and leaning forwards. "If you would begrudge a man his curious nature, I was wondering why you want to have your daughter attend school here. Even considering the fact that this is where you yourself attended many years ago, I can't help but think that there is some other reason. Especially considering your, 'daughter's', school records. So please, care to share your thoughts on this matter?"

Nodoka looked a slight bit off put by the sudden questioning, but recovered her throat to buy some time, she gave a pointed look towards Shizuna as she gave a measured response. "What do you know of... magic?" The Headmaster's eyes grew wider before narrowing, their focus flickering between the two redheads.

Finally he gave a sigh and beckoned over to Shizuna. Once she was standing next to him she leaned over so he could whisper into her ear. "Could you bring in Takahata-san and Tatsumiya-chan? I feel there prescence may aid things here." Giving a small nod, Shizuna quietly left the room. At the same time the Headmaster had turned his now hard gaze back to pair on the couch.

"Now, what makes you think I would know anything of magic? Magic is a myth made up ages ago by those who couldn't understand how something occurred. You don't honestly expect me to believe in such a thing, do you?" If he was right then his question should be enough to get a rise out of one of the two in front of him, probably by 'proving' magic's existance to him in some way. As per his position, it was his duty to keep a track of all magic users in the region, and he had to make sure that neither of the two in front of him was a threat.

Instead, he was quite shocked when the younger redhead crossed her gaze with his, turning from where it had been studying the pictures hanging on the wall. The look in her eyes was something else, something he had felt from only a few people in his life, one of whom he saw just the other day. A small smile grew on the girl's face, though it failed to reach her eyes. "Oh I'm pretty sure you know about magic. After all, you're practically glowing with it."

The Headmaster straightened near imperceptively, one of his arms dropping to his side, the hand out of sight behind the desk, while his other hand moved to stroke his beard . "Oh ho ho, am I now? And if I am as strong as you say, what exactly can _you,_ do to me?" The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Ranma and the Headmaster stared into each other's eyes, Nodoka nervously watching from the sidelines. Ranma abruptly eased up and relaxed back into her seat, the heavy atmosphere easing.

Ranma gave the old man across from her a look of respect before giving a chuckle that turned into a short bout of loud laughter. Wiping a tear from her eye, she adopted her usual superior smirk, before dissappearing from view, to the shock of the others present. The Headmaster opened his mouth to utter a minor cantrip of revelation, when he felt something sharp press against his throat. With wide eyes he turned his head slightly to side, catching sight of a still smirking Ranma, her hand holding the handle of one of his ornate letter openers.

Ranma opened her mouth to say something, but stopped and instead cocked her head to the side, as if hearing some sound that no-one else could. Giving the Headmaster an unconciously flirtatious wink, Ranma again vanished, the letter opener returned to its sheathe as if it had never left and Ranma herself reappearing on the couch, in exactly the same position as she had been in before she had vanished the first time. Ranma gave the still disoriented Headmaster one last smirk before turning her head towards the door.

"You can come in now." There was a loud thump as someone banged their head against the door they had been leaning against. The door opened and three entered, the male of the trio rubbing his head. Ranma gave him a quick once over, taking in the controlled way in which he moved, and his obvious ki reserves, finding him to be the greatest threat in the room if it came down to a fight, as he could stall her while the Headmaster worked his magic. Ranma didn't bother to look too deeply into the secretary, as she had already done a quick scan the moment they had been introduced, finding only the faintest traces of magic and ki that any normal person might have.

It was the last of the trio that garnered the most of Ranma's attention. Though she was dressed in the not uncommon and traditional vestements of a shrine maiden, though that made her appearance only the stranger, as her well tanned skin tone was not one commonly associated with those of purely Japanese descent. As with the other new arrival, she walked with an ease and efficiency in her movements that belied training in some form of martial arts. But what truly attracted Ranma's attention was the fifty caliber rifle the girl carried in slung over her shoulder. He knew of only a few people who carried around that kind of firepower like it was nothing, and the last one had been...

"Mana-chan?"

There was a simultaneous blink as those in the room digested Ranma's sudden, and quite odd, question. Mana herself froze, staring at Ranma in confusion. Mistaking Mana's reaction for recognition, Ranma continued on. "Wow, it's been so long since I saw you. How are your aunt and mom doing? Oh, and is your aunt Revy still hounding you over that one night in Bangkok? I mean, I would have done something similar if it had been my mom, but did you really have to shoot the Chairman of the Chinese PolitBuro for hitting on Rally?"

A shocked and somewhat horrified silence settled on those in the room as they stared a pale Mana, her jaw dropped as far as physically possible without dislocation. The Headmaster made a choked noise that sounded suspiciously similar to that of a cut-off laugh. Takahata had a blank expression on his face, but mentally he was rolling around on the floor laughing, he had heard about the incident the redhead was referring to, though the foreigners who had committed the act had been unknown to most outside of the incident. Nodoka was staring horror-stricken between her son, currently daughter, and the dark skinned young woman with the gun.

Mana's jaw worked soundlessly as she tried to unravel the shocked mess her mind had become and identify the one who had so calmly dropped one of her most carefully kept secrets like it was nothing. The only ones who had known about that incident were her own family, and she was sure they would never say anything, and the young boy they had taken in for training for a while. A boy that looked a lot like the redhead in front of her, now that she thought about it, right down to the same pig-tailed hair, though the colour was a touch different.

"R-ranma?" Ranma blinked at the suprisingly timid question before nodding, a large smile on her face. The next thing she knew she was lying on the ground staring at the ceiling, her jaw throbbing from the pain of getting slammed by the butt of Mana's rifle. As Mana stood over Ranma, a vein on her forehead pulsing along with a twitch of her brow, she slowly lowered her arms from their post-strike position.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were when you dissapeared like that? We thought you had been kidnapped or worse! If I hadn't found that note of yours we probably would have torn the city apart looking for you! And what the hell happened to you, because I'm pretty sure that last time I saw you, you were most assuredly male." Despite the strange looks her question got her, Mana remained in her threatening position over Ranma.

"Uh, about that. You wouldn't have happened to have heard of a place called Jusenkyo while you were traveling, would you?" Ranma asked sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. From the way her rifle slipped out of her shocked hands, Ranma made the reasonable assumption that she had in fact heard of the Valley of the Cursed Springs. Nodoka decided that this would be the best time in which to speak, as it didn't look like there would be a better pause in the conversation.

"Jusenkyo is actually the main reason I wanted Ranma to attend school here. I seem to recall a certain instance when I attended class here, involving some interesting effects for that movie they were shooting around here, shame it was never completed, those giant icicles were quite impressive." She said smugly as she watched both the Headmaster and the other gentleman twitch at her words.

"Now before a year ago I would have simply let myself believe that was in fact a movie shoot, as I the alternative would have been simply unbelievable. But after my son-turned-daughter returned from a training trip with my husband, cursed by Jusenkyo, well, to say it opened my eyes would be quite the understatement."

The Headmaster let out a sigh and sunk into his chair. These were the kind of days he hated getting up for in the morning, honestly not even a half-hour from Homeroom and someone was holding his balls in a vice. From what the scores on the entry tests, and the grades and reports from her old school said, Ranma was quite sub-par when it came to the academic aspects of her life, but the difference in score between her last test from her old school and the entry exam she would only barely manage to get into the high school level.

His eyes took on a far away look while he stroked his beard as he thought over the matter. Most of the classes were starting this very morning, and he couldn't very well change their roster on a whim, the teachers would have his hide in an instant if he did. Although, his thoughtful expression gave way to a small smile, there was one teacher who probably wouldn't mind. And if the reports on Ranma's skills were in any way accurate, and considering the fact that she had trained with Mana and her family, then she would definitely be of use in that class.

With a twinkle in his eyes the Headmaster cleared his throat, getting the attention of those in room. Mana and Ranma ceased their discussion on various martial arts techniques they had come across since they had last seen each other, and Shizuna and Nodoka turned from their discussion of various traditional and cultural matters and ideas. "I have decided that while Ranma can attend the Academy, she will have to do so from the Junior High level, as her knowledge simply isn't up to par."

The Headmaster wrote something down on a sheet of paper before folding it and handing it over to Shizuna. Smiling he turned to the somewhat smoldering redhead. "Now I'm sure that this is not what you wanted, but it is for the best. Shizuna-san has your letter of acceptance to give to your new teacher, who, by the way, is also just beginning here, as well as the list of the necessary textbooks."

"There is one thing though I must ask of you." The Headmaster's expression turned grave as the atmosphere in the room became heavy. Ranma herself was quite impressed by the weight of the aura the old man was putting out. "I ask that you keep the knowledge of magic in the strictest of confidentiality. If you were to let such knowledge out amongst the general public, well it wouldn't be pretty, and we who know and use magic have ways of dealing those who are deemed risks. I trust I have your full co-operation?"

Ranma gave a somber nod, she didn't doubt that she could take maybe a few magic users, but if they had a large number at least as skilled as the other old man who had come into the room, then she couldn't possibly win, and that fact galled her. Seeing the nod the Headmaster smiled as the tension in the room vanished. "Good, good. Now then, Shizuna-san will show you to your new homeroom. I'm sure Springfield-san will apreciate your prescence. Now off with you, I have a lot of paper work to get back to."

Ranma and Nodoka stood and gave the Headmaster matching bows before leaving, Ranma talking amicably with Mana as the door closed behind them, leaving the Headmaster alone with Takamichi. Letting out a large sigh, the Headmaster visibly deflated as he gave a rueful shake of his head. Takamichi took a seat on the now vacant couch, putting an unlit cigarette in his mouth. "You know, that girl, she's skilled. Really skilled, you can easily tell by way she moves, every step is perfectly controlled and fluid."

The Headmaster nodded."Her file says as much, though I'm quite sure that if anything the reports understate her true strength. I'm sure you heard about the incident in China a few months back?" Takamichi gave a wary nod. " Well, the dispatch team we sent came back some rather disturbing findings. Someone killed the True Phoenix." Takamichi's cigarette fell out of his slackened jaw. "From what our people could gather from those who nearby and those who had witnessed the event, a large portion having actually become demi-phoenixes from exposure to the True Phoenix after several centuries, a warrior from came from Japan to challenge the Phoenix for the life of his stolen love. Our people couldn't find anyone who was actually at ground zero, but suffice to say the outcome was quite spectacular. At least thirty-five percent of the mountain was turned into rubble. That girl matches the description we were given of the Japanese warrior exactly."

Takamichi put another cigarette in his mouth and lit it with trembling hands. The Phoenix had been a mage of such great power and evil that he held a bounty several magnitudes higher than even the so-call Undying Mage Evangeline. The Phoenix had once been just a purely average mage, and his power had come at the cost of his sanity, as he had, in secret, bound some of the most powerful pieces of magic known at the time, and some he had created himself, to his very soul. For a while, before he had decided to make a name for himself, he had worked as a spell-for-hire, serving anyone for the right amount of gold. It was after this time, when he decided he wanted to become an 'eternal emperor', that forced nearly the entire magical realm to unite against him, the ensueing fight leaving him greatly weakened, and forcing him to flee to the mortal realm and hide away.

Takamichi took a long drag to calm his nerves before he asked, "So what are we going to do with her? I mean we can't just let someone with that kind of power loose on the campus. Where is sh- you put her in Negi's class, didn't you." The HEadmaster gave a hearty chuckle at the annoyance in Takamichi's voice.

"Ohohoho, do you think so little of me my young friend? But yes, I think that if there was anyone who could keep her under control it would be the young Springfield, especially if he takes after his father at all. I just hope she doesn't make enemies of the rest of the class, she doesn't seem to be the most, er, polite of people."

Both Takamichi and the Headmaster went pale at the exact same moment, a terrifying thought running through their mind, what will happen when Ranma and Evangeline meet? If the two didn't get along, or worse, if they decided they _liked _each other, what horrors might they unleash?

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update but here I am. Been a bit busy with school and all, but soon I shall be free... Soon...

To those who expressed concern, no, it will not be a Ranma-chan fic. It will kinda balanced, there may be more of her from chapter to the next, but it won't be a lock-fic. Ranma-kun will show up more so in next chapter.

Also thanks for the wonderful services of my beta for this story, **Dreamingfox.**

And props to **Muaji** for correctly guessing the cross for **Take the Red and Run**.

FG signing off.

Next Chapter: It's time to meet the class. Now what's going on with Evangeline?


	3. Chapter 2

"So what's going on with that cousin of yours Haruna?" Haruna looked up from her sketchbook towards her friend Yue. The question also grabbed the attention of some of the other girls as well, the other's leaning over to listen in. Haruna considered the question a moment before giving a shrug.

"Eh, not much. I heard Aunty was going try to get hi-her enrolled here." Yue nodded, though she was intrigued by her friend's slip-up. She was about to ask if there was anything else when someone beat her to the punch.

"So what's this cousin of yours like?" Haruna contemplated ignoring the question, after all, it did come from Kazumi, but it wasn't like there was too much harm in discussing some of her cousin's life. Marking her place with her pencil, she closed her sketchbook and turned to face Kazumi, who was standing eagerly with a tape recorder in one hand.

"Well, let's see. Ranma is a really good martial artist. H-she isn't the brightest out there, but she is trying, thanks to Aunty's prodding. She's a pretty good cook too. Sometimes she can be a bit rude, and she's always kind of blunt, but that's mostly her father's fault. Oh yeah, and she's really scared of cats." The gathered audience blinked at odd statement. Haruna noticed their confusion and decided to elaborate a bit.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but apparently Aunty's ex-husband did something really stupid to Ranma, and h-she hasn't been the same since. Now she can't even so much as look at a cat without freezing up." That caused the gathered girls to sadden, Fuka and Fumika both started to tear up at the thought of not being able be near a cat, ever, while Chachamaru, who was sitting nearby patiently awaiting the beginning of class, felt an inexplicable rise of temperature within her core. Haruna decided that now would be the best chance of changing the subject, as she didn't want to discuss the failures of one Genma Rokubungi anymore.

"So Kazumi," The girl in question perked up as her name was called, "what do you know about our new homeroom teacher?" Kazumi pondered a moment, before pulling out a small flip-pad and leafing through it.

"Not much actually," She tapped the page that held her notes," I know that he used to live in England for the last ten years or so, and that he apparently graduated at the top of his class, but other than that nothing. Nothing on what he looks like, nothing on likes, dislikes, its really frustrating. "And for her it was. As the resident reporter it was her sworn duty to be informed and up to date on all relevant facts that related to her class. To be so in the dark about a subject was frustrating.

As the group of girls continued to gossip and wonder over the subject of their new teacher, as well various other things, there was one person who _did _in fact know something about the new teacher. What she did know though, frustrated and and angered her. Not only was she, Evangeline A. K. McDowell, the legendary dark mage and Terror of Europe, cursed and trapped by an idiot, but now she was going to have to be taught by said idiot's own flesh and blood. If that didn't grate on her enough, the Headmaster had the gall to tell, no not tell, but to order her to play nice with the boy.

She sighed and tried to relax in her seat. It wouldn't do her any good to kill the poor boy just because of how his elders had gotten her so worked up, but she supposed it could have been worse. She could have been trapped in a class that more closely matched her current physical appearance in age. She shuddered at the thought, no she supposed playing nice, at least for her, would be the least she could do in order to stay with girls who possessed at least mostly respectable levels of intelligence, minus a few exceptions of course.

Then another thought came to her mind, and she couldn't help but smile. While she was currently trapped due to the curse, something she had learned in her lifetime was that any curse could be broken with the right ritual and the right materials, and the blood of the original caster, or at least as close as possible she could get, was pretty much all she needed. Yes, maybe this year wouldn't be so bad for her after all.

As she began to plot her way out of the school, Evangeline noticed something off about the class. taking a look around it took her a moment to realize what it was. Suprisingly, one of the class' most noteworthy students was missing. If it had been nearly any other student than Evangeline would have simply written them off as being late, but Mana Tatsumiya was never late, her role as a guardian of the class keeping her to a firm routine. That and Evangeline was pretty sure she was docked a bit of her pay if she was late.

Evangeline perked up as she felt a magical presence beyond the door to the classroom. She watched as the ninja twins finished setting up the last of their traps and retreat to their seats, reaching them just as the door opened up. Now Evangeline, and the rest of the class for that matter, had been expecting several things of their teacher, him being all of about ten years of age though, was certainly not one of them. Evangeline rolled her eyes as the boy caused the first of the twins' traps to fail, at least momentarily, before letting it continue to fall. She cracked a smile at her new teacher's misfortune, already reworking her plans to take into account her teacher's young age, as well as the naivety and innocence he likely carried with him.

Evangeline ignored the boy's introduction, but did pay some attention to the ensuing chaos as Kagurazaka and Yukihiro both got into it again. She could hear someone in the rest of class taking bets and was about to place one down herself, if only for the amusement of it, when the door to the class slid open again. The class, including the two fighting, froze as Mana stepped through, a frosty glare on her face being leveled towards the troublemakers. Sufficiently cowed, the class returned to their seats, Mana taking hers silently after handing the brat a note.

Negi looked down at the note in his hand for a moment before opening it, his eyebrows rising in surprise. Not even part way through his first class and he already had a new student. Raising his head he noticed said student waiting impatiently outside the door to the class, her foot tapping an even beat as she stared directly into his eyes. For some reason he felt the need to swallow, that or run and find somewhere to hide, as shiver's ran down his spine. Clearing his throat he turned his attention back to the class, giving a nod of thanks to the girl who had calmed things down, her name escaping him at the moment.

"Class, today you not only have a new teacher, but you also are getting a new student. Why don't you come in and introduce yourself." Surprisingly, for those familiar with her from Nerima, Ranma entered somewhat shyly, though she stilled moved with a grace and economy of movement that made several of the students very interested in Ranma, and the rest incredibly jealous. Ranma walked over next to the desk before turning and bowing to the rest of the class.

As she straightened, she thought she heard someone gasp quietly, though from just looking at the class she couldn't tell who. Giving a mental shrug she continued on to introduce herself. "My name is Saotome Ranma." She gave another small bow. " I hope you'll treat me well." She gave the class a beaming smile that, when combined with her looks, nearly caused several heart attacks from too much sweetness. She smiled even brighter when she noticed that her cousin was in the same class, though she was slightly dissapointed that she was so far behind academically.

Negi gave a nod, though he already knew as much thanks to the note from the Headmaster. Pulling out his class list, he looked though it in the hopes of finding an empty seat. Finding one, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine as he considered the location of the open seat, though he couldn't for the life of him figure why. Clearing his throat to regain the class' attention, he pointed towards the back of the class.

"Uh, Saotome-chan, er -san," Ranma winced at the address, but considered her current situation and the fact the kid didn't know any better, let it slide. "Why don't you take the open seat next to, " Negi looked down as he rechecked the name, "Evangeline-san." Ranma nodded and searched for the person her teacher had pointed too, finding a young girl who looked borderline apoplectic staring daggers at her. Ranma shrugged it off, as she had never met the girl before, when a thought struck her. As she started to make her way over to the empty seat, she couldn't help but hope to high Heaven that her father hadn't pulled another one of his schemes again.

As Ranma sat down, he couldn't help but feel nervous as Evangeline, at least that's what she thought her name was, according to the teacher, continued to stare venomous daggers at the side of her head. A few minutes after Negi resumed teaching the class, which to Ranma's surprised amusement happened to be English, Evangeline leaned over and hissed into Ranma's ear.

"You, I don't know who you are, or what you're thinking. But you and I are going to have words after class. Understood?" Ranma gave a tentative nod and Evangeline returned to her seat, though she continued to intersperse her angry glares at the teacher with downright furious ones towards Ranma. Ranma ignored her for the most part, instead giving her child teacher as much attention as she could, as she really didn't want to see if he had something that made him special too. After dealing with Hinako-sensei, Ranma had learned it was far better to let sleeping dogs lie.

* * *

The bell to signal the end of morning classes and the beginning of lunch rang out loud and clear through the crisp spring air. Moments later the air was filled with the sound of cheering students as they rushed out of their classes to find a spot outside in the sun. Within class 2-A things were a bit laid back, no-one really rushing to go anywhere. Haruna stood up and turned to find Ranma so she could introduce her friends to her cousin, but found her redheaded cousin nowhere in sight.

Shrugging, she grabbed her lunch and went outside to find a nice spot in the shade where she could eat and relax. As she got into the hallway, she caught a glimpse of her cousin's distinctive red hair, Ranma's a deeper crimson compared to Asuna's more orange-ish tone, being pulled down the hallway by the just as distinctive Chachamaru.

Haruna contemplated calling out to them, but they disappeared around a corner before she could make up her mind. Shrugging, she tried to make her way through the sea of humanity that filled the halls of the school. While she couldn't really comment, she couldn't help but think that her cousin had some odd friends, as there was no other reason that came to mind as to why she would leave with Chachamaru without stopping to talk with her first.

* * *

Once they had gotten away from the crowds, Evangeline turned to Chachamaru and made a small motion with her hand. Giving a nod, Chachamaru let go of Ranma, who was slowly rubbing her wrist from where it had been held, before extending her arms out to the side. Ranma blinked as a glowing field of energy spread out from under Chachamaru's feet, the field growing until it encompassed an area that contained all three girls, well one vampire, one robot, and one pseudo-girl that is.

Before Ranma could let out a protest, the soft light from the field became exponentially brighter, the harshness and suddenness causing Ranma to close her eyes against the light. When she opened them again, she blinked them a couple times to make sure they were still working, as her surroundings had become radically different. And unless the school possessed a weird doll club, which it did as a matter of fact, though it was mainly comprised of students in the elementary to middle school levels, then Ranma was definitely **not** in the Academy any more.

Before she could make any smart comment on the decorator's tastes, Ranma found herself shoved roughly backwards, the back of her legs hitting something and causing them to fold, leaving her sitting on a rather hard and cold stone chair. With loud snaps several solid iron clasps latched themselves around her wrists and ankles. Pulling at them, Ranma was surprised to find that they failed to give, even when she applied as much ki as she could to a single limb.

She was stopped from struggling any further by the pressure of a single small finger on her chest, the finger pushing her back until her back was pushed right up against the back of the chair. Evangeline, at least that what Ranma thought her name was from what she could remember when attendance had been called, gave a toothy grin as she saw that she had Ranma's complete attention.

Still grinning, she walked around Ranma until she stood behind her, Ranma's eyes tracking her movements until she it was no longer physically possible for her to do so. Evangeline leaned over the back of the chair, resting her head along one of her arms, as she stared at Ranma.

"Now then, I don't know how the hell you are, but you have to have a lot of guts to come into my school looking like _her._ Guts that I shall have no problems with spilling, if you fail to answer my questions to my satisfaction." Reaching down, she grabbed something from behind the chair before moving to stand in front of Ranma again, whose eyes went wide as she beheld the gleaming knife in the smaller blonde's hand.

"Listen, I don't have any idea what your talking about! Honestly!" Ranma began to struggle again as Evangeline stalked closer. Evangeline's grin became an angry snarl as she she rammed the blade into the chair between Ranma's fingers.

"Liar! You and I both know that body doesn't belong to you, _she, _died ages ago!" Ranma's eyes narrowed as she realized just what her classmate was getting at.

"Hey, I didn't ask for this body alright? You want someone to blame for this, go blame my father. Its his fault I have this curse, just like most every other problem I have to deal with." Evangeline blinked as she ran over her unwilling captive's last couple of sentences. Her own eyes narrowed as she removed the dagger, before ever so gently pricking Ranma's forehead, the action causing the pig-tailed martial artist to cease in her struggles.

"What do you mean, curse?" Ranma would have sighed in relief, if not for the fact that she would probably ended up dead from the blade at her head.

"Go grab some hot water, it'll help with the explaining." Still suspicious, Eva turned and gave a nod to Chachamaru, who had up until this point remained quietly hiding within one of the many shadows that were common within the room. Without making a noise she moved past Ranma and out of the room, at least that's what Ranma thought, considering she heard the sound of a door opening and closing.

A couple of seconds later and Chachamaru reappeared in the room, walking past the chair and causing Ranma to flinch. For some reason, her ki sense seemed to fail whenever it was directed towards Chachamaru, which was something she would definitely have to look into at a later time, preferably when she was not being held at the mercy of some crazy loli mage.

Evangeline grabbed the glass of water offered by Chachamaru with a nod of appreciation, her servant silently retreating back into the shadows to await further instruction. Turning to face her prisoner, Evangeline gave the glass a shake, the water within sloshing loudly against the sides of the container.

"Now what is this supposed to do, hmm?" Ranma struggled to keep herself calm as she replied, there was no need to worry her hostess just yet.

"Poor it on me and you'll see." Evangeline scoffed, but did as Ranma said, already preparing to rip into her fellow student for her true intentions, only to freeze as familiar features melted and warped before settling on a different, yet still strangely recognizable face. The glass slipped from her suddenly slack fingers and shattered against the floor, the sound working to snap Evangeline from her shock.

With a gesture she summoned a luxuriant chair covered in black silk that she collapsed into with a loud sigh. She tiredly rubbed at her face as she stared balefully at the most assuredly male figure across from her. She snapped her fingers and the latches that held Ranma to the chair were undone. She wordlessly accepted the small cup of tea that Chachamaru had somehow managed to prepare without notice, before taking a long sip.

"I'm sorry about that, but you, well you looked exactly like one of my few friends from a long, long time ago." Ranma blinked as he sat rubbing his wrists. Failing to notice Ranma's sudden increase in the attention he was paying her, Evangeline continued on, her tone mournful and bitter. " I guess it was silly of me, she died ages ago, and there's no-one who could possibly remember her, except for me."

Ranma's face paled as realization hit with all the impact of a freight train into his mind. The only conclusion he could draw from Evangeline's words, and from his own experiences and knowledge, was one that had all sorts of disturbing possibilities attached to it. "Umm, what happened to her?" Evangeline's head snapped up, her eyes burning holes into Ranma, before she gave another sigh and returned to staring at the tea cup in her hand.

"We were traveling through the Orient, back then still a place of wonders and mysteries just waiting to be explored. We made the mistake of getting on the bad side of a local warlord, he paid the innkeeper at the place we were staying to drug us, before having his men kidnap my friend. And just her, as he decided that the knowledge of my friends death would be more than enough retribution for our actions." Evangeline's grew a cruel smirk as she thought back to those days. "He really should have grabbed both of us, because the moment the drugs were out of my body I tracked him down, and utterly destroyed him."

Ranma flinched as a spike of ice suddenly appeared from Evangeline's clenched fist. " By the time I was done with him and his men, there wasn't enough left to bury in even a single grave. I found out later that they had taken my friend up into the mountains, to some god-forsaken cursed valley where they drowned her, before putting a curse on her."

Ranma licked his suddenly dry lips as the blonde continued speaking. "They bound her half of her soul to the place where they drowned her, and the other half was torn from her and sent Hild knows where. (1) And then you come in here, looking exactly like Helena did the last time I saw her, what was I supposed to think?"

Ranma chuckled weakly as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I can see where you might get the wrong idea about me. But, I have to know, how the heck you could have known the girl anyway's, cus the Jusenkyo Guide told me that she drowned nearly five hundred years ago."

Evangeline blinked. "J-jusenkyo? They drowned her in _Jusenkyo?" _Her loud shout of disbelief caused Ranma to wince. "Of all the places they could have chosen, they picked _Jusenkyo! _Though, that brings to mind the point, what were _you _doing in a place like that anyways?"

"Huh, oh that was my father's fault, you see we were on a big training journey to learn and improve our mastery of the Art, and my old man found a pamphlet on some old training grounds, or at least what he thought were old training grounds, cus' he couldn't, and still can't, read Chinese. Long story short, we found the valley and ignored the guide before knocking each other in."

Evangeline raised a brow, but nodded thoughtfully at Ranma's story. "Hmm, makes sense, I suppose. After all where better to practice magic than one of the largest sources of ambient mana in the Eastern world."

Ranma cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Wait a sec, who said anything about magic?"

"Wait, you mean you're not a mage? Then what are you? I mean, you seem to have a pretty large internal mana reserve, so excuse me for being skeptical."

"Well yeah, I'm a martial artist, not a mage or anything. I honestly don't see how I could have _that _big of a whatever you called it reserve, I mean, I've never done magicc in my life. " Ranma paused as an idea came to him. "Although, what about your friend?"

Evangeline tapped a finger against her lip as she thought about Ranma's suggestion. "It's possible, I suppose. Though I have never heard of anyone gaining access to the more spiritually-related aspects of those who drowned in the springs, it might simply be because no-one has fallen in the right spring yet. Interesting, though I guess this means I will have to make sure you know how to use that magic of yours, before you end up hurting someone with it. Without proper control you're like a time-bomb waiting to go off."

Ranma frowned as she noticed a flaw in Evangeline's statement. "But I've had the curse for more than two years now, if something was going to happen, wouldn't it have happened already?"

Evangeline raised a brow, before she frowned at Ranma's point. "That's true, I guess that you don't have her powers after all. Heh," Evangeline chuckled darkly," although, on the other hand, if you had at least some decent control over your own internal energies, then I suppose you would have been able to subconsciously suppress any possible outbursts. But that would be impossible for someone as young as-" She cut off at the sheepish look on Ranma's face.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Ranma held his hand palm up, before summoning small ball of brightly glowing ki. The ball was an off-white colour with a hint of blue, and it was bright enough to send a soft glow throughout the room. Barely even thinking about it, Ranma returned the ki to her body, the darkening of the room causing Evangeline pick up her jaw and tiredly rub at her forehead.

"Okay, that's it. You," She thrust her finger painfully into Ranma's still outstretched palm, " You are going to be staying here with me and Chachamaru. If you are going to have Helena's body, you are damn well going to live up to her reputation and her skills. Now come on, we need to go talk with the old man about your living arrangements." At this Ranma brightened, already eager for the possibility of some new techniques. And the fact that he could stay here, wherever the room was, with some companions, made the offer all the better in his mind. And considering Evangeline's attitude towards things, and the way she referred to the Headmaster, Ranma was reasonably sure that they would get along well together.

* * *

At the same time, in his office, Headmaster Konoe suddenly shivered. As he looked out the window, he couldn't help but think that something absolutely horrendous was coming his way. Quickly, he leaned over and switched on the intercom.

"Shizuna-san, could you please hold all my calls, I have the sudden sense of impending doom." He let his finger off the button with a click as he awaited a response. When the intercom crackled, he froze at the sound of the voice on the other end.

"Aww, is the old man trying to keep us out? Saotome-san, I feel so hurt and unloved, whatever shall I do?" If that wasn't enough to terrify him, then the other voice that came on after Evangeline's certainly did the trick.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. Why don't we sort it out in the nice comfort of his office, hmm?" Headmaster Konoe whimpered.

* * *

(1) Two things,One; who else would an evil Vampire mage pray to other than the ruler of Nifelheim, and Two;Hild did in fact know, as the Deathly Duo had been a source of much amusement for her, and after it finally showed up again, found it so amusing that she let it stay where it was.

Well well well. A new chapter it appears. Couple things to cover. One, yes there was a reference to both Gunsmith Cats and Black Lagoon in the previous Chapter. And Two, though I thought I covered it, Haruna is Ranma's cousin, though not the only relative in the class... Maybe I shouldn't have said that. *sweatdrops*

And yes, Genma's original surname is **His **surname, for those familiar with anime. I figured they were both total assholes and failures as fathers, so it seemed fitting. Cookie to those who get the reference without having to look it up.

Lastly, the next two chapters to come out, will be my Raised in Roanipur fic, cross purposefully vague, and the next chapter for A Kitsune in Nerima. As I said on my profile, I've entered into my last year of highschool(yay-me!) and as such, I am very busy, especially with both English 12 and Creative Writing 12 in this first semester. So hopefully they'll be out within the week, and then in a little while after that, the next chapter of ToT will be done. Hopefully.

Lastly, some fan-art I could use for the cover of this would be nice, so if you guys find something, or draw something up yourselves, send me a link.


	4. Chapter 3

The moment consciousness returned to Ranma, she, having returned to her female form the previous evening after Chachamaru had committed the incredibly unusual error of tripping while carrying away a tray of cold drinks, was alert and on guard. It wasn't any one thing that had triggered her finely honed danger sense, but a collection of smaller things. The first thing she noticed was the complete and all encompassing silence, something that Ranma was sure did not exist when she had gone to sleep the previous night._  
_

The second thing she noticed, upon opening her eyes, was that the room she was in was not the one she had fallen asleep in. In fact, as she looked around herself, she wasn't even in the same bed, having gone to sleep on Evangeline's couch, where she was planning on sleeping until Chachamaru could clear out a room for her to stay in long term, and instead she was in a large western style bed with black and crimson pillows and blankets. Ranma found the colour pattern to be quite nice, but until she could figure out how she gotten where she was, and the why, such things could wait until later.

Throwing off the covers, Ranma froze as she noticed her current state of dress, the sheer black lace nightie and the black lace panties she had on were so far out of her usual style that they may as well have been the works of some Parisian fashion designer's experiment. Unfortunately, and to her mounting frustration and annoyance, the room she had awoken in was devoid of any furniture or clothing, aside from the bed which she had awoke upon.

Ranma also noted a distinct lack of openings in the featureless black stone walls. Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Ranma approached one of the walls and carefully ran her hands along it, searching for any seams or cracks that might indicate a hidden opening. To her great surprise, every wall seemed to be completely perfect, without even a hint of a gap at the joins where the wall met the ceiling or the floor either.

Frowning in thought, Ranma backed up and looked at the walls from a bit of a distance, and though she did not have the training to withstand its use, she searched the walls for any possible points at which she could use the Bakusei Tenketsu. She grit her teeth as she found the walls to be utterly devoid of any possible imperfections, which meant that magic was most likely behind her current predicament.

Ranma closed her eyes and began to take in deep breaths in an attempt to calm her growing anger. If she didn't know that Evangeline would have left some kind of calling card for her to find, or some form of taunt, she would have immediately ascribed her predicament to the young looking vampire. But her current situation held none of Evangeline's hallmarks, which were obvious to Ranma even after having spent only a few hours in her presence.

Her surroundings possessed none of Evangeline's affection towards the darker themes, aside from the black stone that comprised the walls and the structure of the bed, nor any sign of her usual boisterous and sometimes quite egotistical and arrogant personality. As Ranma took in the room, she heard the sound of a quiet hissing come from behind her, barely loud enough for her to have heard anywhere else, save for within the deathly quiet room.

Ranma whirled around and dropped into a quick stance, her eyes tracking the source of the sound. The hissing appeared to be coming from the wall, where the outline of a door was slowly being etched out of the stone from the ground up. She slowly began to gather her ki as the lines began to become thicker, and approached each other near what Ranma assumed to be the top of the door.

The hiss suddenly turned into an ear-piercing whistle as the two lines connected. Ranma winced and covered her ears as she instinctively turned her head away from the source of the noise. The instant she was no longer looking at the forming door Ranma knew she had made a critical error, but the expected attack failed to materialize.

Ranma slowly turned her head back towards the wall, unsurprised to find a large opening where there had been featureless stone only moments before. Thrusting out her senses, she was surprised by the distinct lack of energy from beyond the opening, with a lack of any magic traces or ambient ki. Ranma slowly approached the opening, as her eyes flicked around the room and the darkness beyond the opening, in the search for any movement.

Even when Ranma stood directly in front of the opening, she could see nothing beyond except darkness. As Ranma stood undecided of whether to move onwards, the matter was rendered moot as a tremendous blast of air slammed into her from behind, propelling her forwards and into the darkness with a quick curse.

* * *

For the second time that hour Ranma opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room. To be more exact, she found herself on the floor staring up at a ceiling decorated in ornate tiling, the crimson patterns along the black stone making little sense to Ranma's eyes. Shooting upwards into a sitting position, Ranma had to put a hand to the floor to steady herself as her vision swam and darkened at the edges.

Once the waves of vertigo had passed, Ranma took in her once more strange and unfamiliar surroundings. Once again, the walls and floor were made of a black stone, though unlike the walls in the room she had awoken in, which seemed to be more matte black and quite featureless, the stone that made up these walls seemed to have smalls specks of light within, almost as if someone had frozen the night sky.

As she stared into the stone beneath her feet, she could have sworn she saw a streak of blue light flicker past her sight, like a comet or shooting star. So engrossed with the concept of what the stone consisted of, she failed to complete her scan of her surroundings. She gave a surprised start when a feminine voice spoke up from behind her.

"Excuse me, my dear, but is the floor truly so interesting that you ignore your host?"

Ranma bit her lip to keep from snapping back an unwise response as she slowly stood up. As she turned, she slowly lowered herself into a guarded stance and began to draw on her ki, as she had not detected anyone else present within the room and she was more than a little unsure of how powerful her possible opponent might be.

When she received her first full look at her host, her first impression was that she was staring into a fun-house mirror, the kind that cast distorted reflections of your self from their own little worlds. Long crimson tresses, of a length far greater than Ranma would ever allow her own to reach, styled in ringlets fell gently across her shoulders and behind her back.

She was clothed in a beautiful black dress highlighted with crimson. Atop her head rested a crown of black metal, decorated with small rubies. In her hand she held cane topped with a small skull made of silver. She was seated upon an immense throne of gold and red velvet, and Ranma couldn't help but feel a strange sense of disassociation as she saw the far too familiar smirk that rested on the other woman's face.

"Now that you've decided to actually look at me, maybe we can have a good conversation. Please," she waved towards Ranma with her hand, "have a seat." Ranma looked behind herself and froze as a small seat slowly rose out of the stone floor. She turned back to find her host staring at her with an amused expression on her face. Cautiously sitting down, Ranma was surprised to find what she had expected to be hard, unyielding stone was soft and comfortably molded to her form.

Evidently her pleasant surprise showed on her face, as her host couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself. "I see you find my arrangement to be to your liking. Why don't we get down to business then." In a blink the almost companionable look on her face had been replaced with an ice-cold and dead serious look. Ranma straightened imperceptibly in her seat as the ambient temperature in the room seemed to chill, condensation slowly beginning to form on the arms and edges of the large throne.

Ranma narrowed her eyes at the none-too-subtle display of power, as if the chair and Ranma's presence hadn't been enough to show that Ranma was out of her league. Ranma smirked as she dropped into the Soul of Ice, sending the already cooler temperature plummeting, her smirk grew stronger as she noticed that the water that had begun to form on the throne had become flash-frozen.

The other redhead gave a slight incline of head towards Ranma, a sign of grudging respect and, to Ranma's confusion, pride. Ranma's host leaned back and tapped on her throne with her cane, her eyes remaining steadily fixed on Ranma as the ice shattered and fell to the ground. "While I must say I'm impressed, both by your will as well as the skill necessary to affect such an external change with your own internal energies, I would appreciate it if you did not damage my possessions. So tell me, why do you think you are here?"

Ranma gave a surprised blink at the abrupt change in subject. "Well," she started off unsurely, "I was actually hoping you could explain that, cus I'm kinda outta the loop here." The other redhead frowned at Ranma's rougher than usual speech - something that Ranma fell back into when her mind was distracted- but nevertheless found the answer acceptable.

"You are here, in order to receive a little gift of mine." The corner's of her mouth quirked upwards. "Although, I suppose that I can't really give you something that is yours to begin with, now can I." She chuckled at Ranma's confused expression, before she muttered something to herself under her breath that Ranma was unable to make out.

Ranma was getting quite fed up with the cryptic response and lack of a valid answer as to the why and how of her arrival, and she began to stand up, only to be pushed back down as she found the tip of the other redhead's cane in front of her face. Ranma froze and stared past the offending object to where its wielder sat with an amused look on her face.

"Who the hell are you?" If anything, Ranma's angry question only seemed to amuse the other redhead even more, as she began to giggle quietly to herself. She opened her mouth to repeat her question when the cane withdrew a few inches from her face. Once again, Ranma was struck with a strange and twisted sense of familiarity, the smirk that graced the other redhead's face sending strange disjointed shivers down her spine.

"Who am I?" Her startlingly crystalline blue eyes twinkled merrily in the dim light of the room as she reworded Ranma's question. "I know exactly who I am, but I think the better question would be, who, are _you?_" Before Ranma could utter a response, the cane darted forward and slammed into the space between Ranma's eyes. As Ranma drifted off into the sea of unconsciousness, her last thoughts were on the other redhead's cryptic words.

* * *

Ranma's eyes snapped open as she shot upwards, her body relaxing only slightly as she found herself returned once again to Evangeline's cottage. She tiredly rubbed at her face as she focused her mind on the previous night's dream. Cryptic didn't even begin to cover it. She gave a tired sigh as she rolled off the couch and to her feet, her neck and back making loud cracks as she twisted and stretched.

She gave a surprised start as Chachamaru materialized by her side with a steaming cup of tea. Ranma eyed the tea with a fair share of suspicion, suspicion which Chachamaru seemed to be completely unaware of as she set the cup down on the table in front of the couch. Ranma continued to stare quietly at Chachamaru until she cocked her head to the side.

"Mistress directed me to provide you with refreshment upon your awakening. I suggest you drink the tea while it is still hot, I am told that it decreases in enjoyability as it cools."

Ranma continued to stare for another moment, but when Chachamaru failed to provide any further information, she gave a sigh and reached for the tea. Raising the cup to her lips, she blew a short breath over the top before she took a sip. Ranma was pleasantly surprised by the intriguing flavour of the tea, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Thanks Cha-chan, this is really good." Chachamaru cocked her head to the side in curiosity at the shortened name, but refrained from commenting on it as she quietly refilled Ranma's cup of tea.

"Yes, Mistress figured you would appreciate it. It is an old favorite of her own devise. She calls it 'bloodline tea', after its principal ingredient." Ranma froze, her mind making the accurate connection as to the ingredient within the tea, considering the fact Evangeline had explained her existence the previous evening after they had calmed down a bit. The fact that Ranma found the tea to be delicious poured far too many doubts about herself into her mind, especially after all the other changes she had observed in herself since Jusendo.

While Ranma engaged in some serious introspection, Chachamaru silently removed herself from the room and returned upstairs, only to find her mistress quietly waiting for her at the doorway to her room. The pair stood there for a moment in silence, before Evangeline cocked her head towards the stairs.

"How is she?" On the surface, the question seemed quite benign, a question anyone might ask another about yet another person, perhaps even a stranger. Evangeline, however, never asked a question without serious thought behind it. In this case, she was referring to the test she had arranged for Ranma to go through.

"She seems to possess quite the appreciation towards Mistress' tea. Just as you predicted, the condition seems to have transferred to a new host quite easily, though it is most likely not fully integrated yet within her, as it seems only a small portion of the traits have so far carried over to her original form. I calculate, based on the apparent length of time she has held the curse already, and with the rate of changes seeming to have increased in the past few months according the Ranma-san's comments, I would say that full integration is only a few weeks away."

Evangeline worried her lip with her teeth as she mulled over Chachamaru's report. If her calculations were indeed accurate, then she could potentially use some of her earlier plans she had deemed unusable. At the very least, her current plans could only be made easier with the aid of another Nosferatu like herself. She gave Chachamaru a toothy grin as her eyes grew distant. It would truly be wonderful, not only would she be free, but the Scourge of Europe would finally be reunited. It was such a shame that _that _group of low-class vampires took their hard earned reputation and name and dragged it into the mud.

Chachamaru stood silently as she observed her Mistress' perplexing behaviour. She raised a finely sculpted brow in curiosity as she detected certain hormone and pheromone levels within her Mistress slowly rise to a quite unusual high, though from her programmed understanding of human physiology, to which Mistress still shared most biological traits with, could still reach much higher levels.

However amusing the sight of her Mistress' flushed cheeks and partially glazed eyes were, Chachamaru still had things to do and she deliberately cleared her throat. Evangeline snapped back to reality in a blink, her eyes clearing as the flush on her cheeks was replaced with a rather cute looking blush. She noticed Chachamaru still stood at the top of the stairs awaiting further instruction and hastily schooled her face back into it's usual haughty expression, though the blush remained on her cheeks.

Without a word she moved past Chachamaru and began to descend the stairs, only to pause and look towards her servant, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Chachamaru, be a dear and go into the basement, I need you to retrieve the box marked with the Norse runes." Without bothering to see if the order was acknowledged or not, Evangeline continued down the stairs and into the living room, an ironic name considering the fact that neither she nor Chachamaru was technically alive.

Ranma gave her a wave from where she sat near the fireplace, Evangeline allowing herself a small smile as she walked over and took a seat of her own. With a wave of the hand she summoned a small cup of her tea from the kitchen, her smile widening at the sight of steam rising from over the brim. She slowly took a sip, so as not to let her lips burn, and let out an appreciative sigh.

"I must admit, Chachamaru makes an absolutely wonderful bloodline tea, even better than myself, wouldn't you agree?" Ranma looked a bit startled by the sudden question, and cocked her head to the side in thought.

"I dunno, I mean I haven't tried yours yet, so for all I know it could be much better. " Ranma leaned forwards and rested her head on her hands, her elbows placed atop her knees. "By the way, why are we not going to class today?"

Evangeline gave Ranma a toothy grin. "One, because I wanted to. Two, because while you were still asleep, Chachamaru caught the boy wonder mixing a universal love potion, and I thought it would be best to avoid getting caught up in the disaster that is most likely going to ensue. And three, I have a little gift for you."

As if summoned by her words, which in a way of thinking, she was, Chachamaru entered the room, a large black box in her hands. As she carefully set it down on the table, Ranma couldn't help but stare at the myriad chains and locks that wreathed the small container, a container which appeared to be carved from a single chunk of obsidian, as well as engraved with numerous symbols of strange design.

Evangeline let out a small sigh as she gently tapped one of the locks daintily with her finger. "It seems such a shame to let _him _out again, but I suppose he is the best teacher for you." She gave a dark chuckle as the chains fell limply to the table, the runes that decorated the sides of the container beginning to glow with an eerie greenish light.

"Maybe he'll serve to keep the brat on his toes. If anything, he'll be a good source of entertainment." The runes' glow brightened until it reached a blinding intensity that forced Ranma and Evangeline to turn away, and when they turned back, the stone container had vanished. In it's place was a small white cat plushy, with long, thick black stitches that ran across it's surface. Ranma flinched backwards for a moment in reflex, only for her to curiously find her general terror of feline-kind to be absent.

Evangeline turned and gave Ranma a look that was borderline maniacal. Ranma began to feel a chill run up her spine as something massive began to impose itself on her senses. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, finding nothing before they settled on the small stuffed cat, it's eyes seeming to glow dimly as it jerkily brought itself to its feet. From her seat, Evangeline began to once again chuckle darkly.

"Allow me to introduce Helena's mentor, the sometimes insufferable, always treacherous, occasionally lecherous, Loki."

* * *

Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, but my muse wasn't really cooperating with me very well. Couple things to cover below.

Okay, the cover image, as given to me by a friend of mine from wherever he found it, is called Nights Embrace. Unfortunately, my friend didn't write down the artist, so you'll have to find that on your own. Anyway's, I know she doesn't look too much like Ranma-chan, but please, just go with me on this one. Sides, the pic was the inspiration for the entire first scene.

Second, the bloodline tea is a shout out to Traingham's Fang Vice Addiction, which this fic is majorly inspired by.

Ranma's shortening of Chachamaru's name, well, I figure that would be canonically accurate for him/her to do.

Heh, yes, the Scourge of Europe thing is a shot at Spike, Drusilla, Angel(us), and Darla of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame.

And yes, it is **that **version of Loki. For those of you not in the know, look up Sparkling Generation Valkyrie Yuuki and you'll see why I found this fitting.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Until forever fades away... fades away...


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